Last Chapter

(Seven Months Later)

Rin, Tsubaki and Shippo grabbed their things while chatting merrily as they left the office. Rin now owned what once was called Spider Publishing Inc.; she and Tsubaki renamed it to Sakura Bloom Publishing Inc. Rin decided to give part ownership of the company to Tsubaki since she had worked so hard there for so many years and not under the best circumstances. Shippo was also given a job there doing some part-time photography work for the company. Rin was happy to have him; Shippo was making quite the name for himself in the world of freelance photography and art.

"So Rinny, are you going to join us for dinner tonight?" Shippo asked with pleading eyes.

"Please Rin, I would love to have you over as well." Tsubaki chimed in.

"You two love birds go ahead; I have a date of my own tonight." Rin said winking.

"Okaaaaayyy" Shippo said feigning sadness.

"Oh cut it out!" Rin said slapping Shippo on the shoulder. She valued the fact that despite all their friendship had been through they were able to maintain their light playfulness. "Besides, I know you two could use some alone time." Rin said smirking.

Tsubaki and Shippo both blushed.

Tsubaki and Shippo had just recently decided to make their relationship official after a few months of dating. Tsubaki hadn't made it easy for Shippo, still too traumatized by the events of that night. It had taken quite some time for her to forgive herself enough to let Shippo in. With the help of Rin, Shippo and even Sesshomaru in his own way; they all helped Tsubaki become free of the guilt and allow herself to be happy. Rin helped build her up by offering her ownership of the publishing company, being a supportive friend and refusing to listen to the many sorries Tsubaki kept giving her. Sesshomaru purchased Tsubaki her own condominium, a new car, a brand new wardrobe, weekly counseling sessions and a bank account with 50,000$ in it to purchase necessities as he put it. It was of no consequence to him and his own way of thanking her for helping save his mate. Shippo made the biggest impact though; he finally put a real smile on her face and made her laugh genuinely. He helped her find happiness and became a big part of the reason why she was able to feel free. He forgave her for what she did and saw past her mistakes. She finally had a life free of Naraku and his controlling ways, it felt liberating. Tsubaki was truly grateful and humbled by the drastic turn of events in her life.

Rin laughed.

"Well, see you two later." Rin said hugging them both and heading to a waiting car with Jaken as her driver.

Tsubaki and Shippo said their good byes and made their way to her place for an indoor dinner date.

As Rin made her way to the car she suddenly had a vision of Kagura's lifeless red eyes. She froze and clutched her chest. She hated still having these visions but they just wouldn't stop since that night. Therapy helped quite a bit but she still had her moments.

"Rin! What's wrong girl? Get in the car!" Jaken squawked snapping Rin back to reality.

She took a deep breath. "I'm coming!" She said running to the car.

"What did the Lord say about physical activity? Don't run!" Jaken scolded.

"I'm fine Jaken, sheesh." Rin said getting annoyed with the little demon. He had been so overbearing these past few months no doubt at Sesshomaru's command. She put her headphones in her ears and ignored the little toad demon all the way home.

Rin was grateful to set foot inside of her and Sesshomaru's new home. Sesshomaru still had the condo; he could not sell it until he was done transforming the red room back into a regular room. He had decided to move his mate to a home thinking that his old condo was more of a bachelor's pad. Rin was grateful for that, she was happy to live in an actual house.

And it was an impressive house indeed. The home was modern like Sesshomaru liked but Rin added her little touches to it to make it feel more like a home. The home featured eight bedrooms, five bathrooms, a pool with a pool house, a tennis court, their own personal lake and a trail leading to the woods. Rin thought it was all too much but Sesshomaru disagreed. Eventually she came to enjoy all that the property had to offer and spent a lot of time outdoors. However, these days Sesshomaru would not let her do much of anything.

Rin walked inside and smiled as she smelled something cooking coming from the kitchen.

"Hey Kaede!" She greeted as she made her way to the kitchen.

"Hello dear, you are home just in time for dinner." Kaede greeted back.

"You know I could have helped with that." Rin said.

"I know, I know but you know the Lord does not want you on your feet for too long." Kaede replied then smiled.

"But-" Rin was about to offer a retort but was cut off as she felt two strong arms wrap around her middle.

"But nothing, Kaede is only doing what I asked her to do." Sesshomaru said gently as he planted a kiss on Rin's neck.

Despite her frustration, Rin instantly relaxed and turned around to return the kiss.

Kaede smiled at the display and returned to cooking dinner.

Sesshomaru lifted his mate off her feet and carried her bridal style to the master bedroom and eventually the large master bath where he had warm water already running. The bathroom held an aroma of lavender relaxing her even more.

"I'll never get used to this." Rin said smiling.

Sesshomaru simply smirked as he set her down and began to undress her. Once she was fully undressed, he took a moment to admire her body and how it has changed. He would never get tired of seeing her fully naked. He pulled her close and placed chaste kisses from her belly up to her full bosom. He took one nipple in his mouth and sucked eliciting a moan from his mate. Rin leaned into him and twirled his silky hair in her fingers. She gently started to massage his scalp making her mate release a low growl. His growl reverberated across her skin causing goose bumps. Rin moaned even louder. She loved this man and he loved her!

KNOCK. KNOCK KNOCK!

The sounds were frantic making Rin jump and Sesshomaru growl, this time in annoyance.

"WHAT!?" Sesshomaru yelled leaving the bathroom and closing the door to allow Rin privacy.

"Lord Sesshomaru! It is time!" Jaken said flying in as Sesshomaru opened the door.

"Time for what?" Sesshomaru said in annoyance.

"A new member of the Inu family will be born tonight!" Jaken yelled.

Kagome! Rin thought. She hurriedly threw a robe on and came stumbling out of the bathroom.

"We have to go!" Rin screamed excitedly.

"Get out Jaken." Sesshomaru ordered. The little imp quickly exited the room.

Rin threw on a cotton t-shirt dress and some boots. Sesshomaru grabbed a t-shirt and some jeans to change into. They jumped into his car and sped off toward his father's home. The women in this family will never give birth at hospitals. Inu no Taisho employed an on-call doctor, two nurses and small team of other medical staff on-call when he needs them. Inu no Taisho preferred it that way to avoid media; furthermore he did not trust strangers around the new born members of the family. The medical staff he employed was all demons he has known for many years.

Sesshomaru and Rin arrived quickly. Rin was so excited she wanted to jump out of the car and take off running. Kagome was going to have her baby! She did not run because Sesshomaru would not allow it. He had been treating her so delicately. However, she did walk as fast as she could to get to Kagome's side with Sesshomaru following close behind. He didn't appear it but he was eager as well.

As soon as they made it upstairs they could hear Kagome's screams. A nervous Miroku paced back in forth outside the room his sister was in. He called his mother and told her she needed to get back in town to meet her new grandchild. Their mother promised she would be there by tomorrow. Sango was sitting in a chair outside of the room looking nervous as well.

"Rin! Sesshomaru! You two made it!" Sango said jumping up and hugging them both.

"Of course, how is she doing?" Rin asked.

"The better question may be how is Inuyasha doing. She's been giving him hell since she went into labor." Sango chuckled.

Miroku ended his call with his mother and greeted them both. "I'm going to be an uncle!" He said excitedly but still nervous.

"I'm going to be a god mother!" Rin said happily.

Sesshomaru slipped by the trio while they chatted to look for his father. He found him in a room full of chaos. He and Izayoi were standing in the corner of the room watching the scene before them. Kagome was screaming at every contraction and pulling Inuyasha's hair for support. He kept yelling for her to let him go but cowered when she glowered at him. Sesshomaru smirked at the pain his little brother was in. The nursing staff buzzed about preparing for the birth. This pregnancy was considered high risk. Any human birthing the baby of a demon was sure to have complications but the medical staff was at the ready to deal with anything that might go amiss.

Before Sesshomaru could even greet his father the doctor announced the baby was coming! Nurses shooed Sesshomaru, Inu no Taisho and Izayoi out of the room. They greeted each other as they left the room.

"Well family, a new member is about to be born." Inu no Taisho announced joyfully.

"I'm so excited!" Izayoi squeaked. The woman was practically trembling with happiness. She always wanted a grandchild and now she finally got one.

They all heard an even louder scream and rushed to the door to listen. They all went silent waiting to hear the baby's first cry. Inuyasha could be heard yelling as well as Kagome continued her death grip on his hair. They could hear the doctor telling Kagome one more push and then…

"WAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH" The baby was born!

Unable to contain their excitement the group burst into the door to get a look at the new family member.

"It's a girl!" The doctor announced. He passed her off to a nurse to be cleaned and wrapped up.

"A girl!" Kagome said weakly. "I think I'm just going to…." She quickly fell asleep making Inuyasha panic and Rin and Miroku run to her side.

The doctor chuckled. "She's fine, her vital signs are good. She had no complications other than exhaustion from delivering a quarter demon baby. She will likely sleep for a day and should wake tomorrow evening. The nurses will pump milk from her breasts to feed the baby until she awakens."

Everyone visibly relaxed.

"That is wonderful news doctor. Thank you for your services." Inu no Taisho said.

"Of course, I will stick around until she is fully able to walk just to make sure. Now we will give the family some privacy." The doctor replied. He signaled to the nurses that it was time for them to leave the room. One of the nurses handed Inuyasha his daughter.

Inuyasha held his newborn daughter with great care. He looked down at her with nothing but love and pride. Everyone crowded around him to get a look at her. He gently rocked her back and forth cooing at her. His daughter had a tuft of black hair on her head and plump, rosy cheeks. She looked every bit of human until she finally opened her eyes which revealed the same brilliant color of amber as her father's. He and Kagome had already decided on a name if the baby was a girl; her name was Kata.

"I'm a father." He said breathlessly.

Izayoi could not hold back her tears of joy. Even Sesshomaru patted his brother on the back; they shared a rare smile with one another. The family each took turns holding the baby until eventually they all decided to leave and give the new family privacy. Rin quickly kissed her best friend on the cheek before she left.

They would all sleep at the mansion that night so they could see Kagome when she woke up and spend more time with the baby. Inu no Taisho and Izayoi retired to their room after telling everyone where they would be sleeping. Inu no Taisho made sure to remind Miroku he would be sleeping alone which made Sango blush. The two of them had not become a couple but they had been out on a few dates. Sango moved much slower than the girls Miroku were used to dating but he was so intrigued by her he would give her all the time she needed.

Sesshomaru and Rin retired to his old room each lost in their own thoughts.

"Birth is a beautiful process." Sesshomaru suddenly said surprising Rin out of her thoughts.

"Yes, I mean at least the result of it is. The process seems incredibly painful." Rin said sitting on the bed thinking about what her friend went through. She remembered Izayoi talking about the trouble she had when giving birth to Inuyasha as well.

Sesshomaru sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms. "The pain will be forgotten once you lay eyes on the life we created." He rubbed her round belly and kissed the top of her head. Watching the birth of his niece made him that much more excited for the birth of his son. Rin was seven months pregnant. He knew it would be difficult for her to birth a half demon child but he would be right with her every step of the way. He would always protect her.

Author's Note:

The end! I'm kind of sad. I really enjoyed writing this story. I want to thank everyone that reviewed, followed and favorited this story and me as an author. You guys gave me the motivation to keep writing. Thank you so much! Until next time instead of writing, I'll be thinking of another story. J